Today we had another wonderful day of exploration in Antarctica.

We were pretty organised this morning, up early and down to breakfast by about 8 am. It was just as well we were organised because the Zodiac expeditions went out earlier than originally planned, which meant we ended up being on the water a bit after 9 am.

Our first landing for the day was at Brown Bluff, on the Antarctic Peninsula. So this was the first time we had set foot on continental Antarctica. The sea across to Brown Bluff was a bit smoother than we had experienced yesterday on the Zodiacs, which made it a bit more relaxing. We enjoyed walking around Brown Bluff, looking at the very cute Adélie penguins and other bird life.

The ship, moored off Brown Bluff.
The ship, moored off Brown Bluff.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Keith on Brown Bluff.
Keith on Brown Bluff.
Andrea on Brown Bluff.
Andrea on Brown Bluff.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Kelp gull.
Kelp gull.
Kelp gull.
Kelp gull.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.

When we returned to the ship we relaxed a bit before getting some lunch. We have done pretty well on the food front, pacing ourselves admirably (but we’re probably still enjoying a little too much ice cream!).

During the afternoon the ship headed further south to Devil Island. This entailed charting a course through the ice. We decided to visit the bridge to observe the ship’s captain and the ice navigator at work, steering the ship through the huge ice sheets in our path. The noise and vibration of the ice breaking is quite spectacular.

A large iceberg.
A large iceberg.
Keith on the ship's bridge.
Keith on the ship's bridge.

At around 5pm we hopped on board a Zodiac again and headed to shore. Devil Island is a volcanic island with really interesting rock formations, as well as lots of penguins! We explored the island for a while before heading back to the ship to get ready for dinner.

Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Andrea on Devil Island.
Andrea on Devil Island.
Andrea on Devil Island.
Andrea on Devil Island.
Adélie penguins.
Adélie penguins.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguin.
Adélie penguins.
Adélie penguins.
The Zodiacs, winched back on the ship at the end of the day.
The Zodiacs, winched back on the ship at the end of the day.

We had dinner with our friend David (the ship’s geologist), which was very nice. After dinner we retreated to the bar for a drink and then caught the tail end of the night’s entertainment in the theatre.

We are now back in the room after a very full day. Tomorrow the ship is heading further into the Weddell Sea and we hope to approach the edge of last winter’s sea ice. We’ll be in the vicinity of James Ross Island, Seymour Island, and Snow Hill Island. Activities for the day will be dependent on weather, which is very changeable here! Despite it being summer here, it is still very cold, very foggy, and we’ve even had snow over the last two days (eve though it is summer here).